Election workers ready for early voting to begin Tuesday

ELYRIA — Area election workers are gearing up for the start of Ohio’s absentee voting on Tuesday.
However, they also said voter turnout for this year’s general election likely will be much lower than the presidential election in November 2012.
“We will be ready to vote people here starting on Tuesday,” said Paul Adams, director of the Lorain County Board of Elections.
The Lorain County board will have 16 voting machines available at its office, 1985 N. Ridge Road East, Sheffield Township, for people who want to vote absentee ballots before the Nov. 5 election.
As of Friday, the Lorain County election staff received 1,500 to 1,700 requests for ballots to be mailed out, Adams said. The number is typical for a municipal election year, he said.
In Erie County, staff were preparing to mail about 300 ballots on Tuesday, said Joanne Harris, deputy director of the board of elections, 2900 Columbus Ave., Perkins Township.
The requests “are slow coming in,” she said. The board of elections met Friday and potential turnout did not come up for discussion, Harris said.
The Huron County Board of Elections, 180 Milan Ave., Suite 4, Norwalk, had 60 requests for ballots by mail, said Thomas Gerrity, deputy director for the board.
“That is very slow,” he said. “On the first day, if we hit 75 going out, that would surprise me. It’s been really slow.”
Before the November 2012 presidential election, the Huron County Board of Elections sent out 3,000 ballots on the first day, Gerrity said.
Adams and other election workers said they are not expecting huge waves of voters mobbing the county offices.
Voter turnout could be spotty, with more people coming out to vote in communities where multiple candidates are vying for seats, they said.
“This is a local election year,” Adams said.
Several political subdivisions have contested races around the region.
In Erie County, Harris predicted a relatively higher turnout with voters casting ballots on the Huron and Margaretta school boards, the Perkins Local School levy and the Sandusky City Commission.
In Huron County, Norwalk schools, Norwalk Township and Norwalk City Council all have contested races, along with the judgeship for Norwalk Municipal Court, Gerrity said.
The Lorain County Board of Elections also has begun training sessions for the crew of about 1,000 workers who help voters at the polls on election day, Adams said. By contrast, Huron County, with a smaller population than Lorain County, has about 184 poll workers, Gerrity said.
The boards also will have some added office hours in the coming weeks.
• Lorain County: Voting is possible during normal office hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. And Oct. 7 is the deadline to register to vote for the November election; the office is open 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day. The office is open 8:30 a.m. to noon, Nov. 2. Web: www.loraincountyelections.com/
• Erie County: Voting is open during normal office hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. The office is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 1. It is closed Oct. 14 for Columbus Day. Web: www.electionsonthe.net/oh/erie/
• Huron County: Voting is open during normal office hours 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The office is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31. Web: www.huroncountyboe.com/
• Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is at 2925 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Web: boe.cuyahogacounty.us/